A new Harris Poll finds that a majority of Americans believe the Supreme Court is a necessary branch of the government. Why Harris Poll asked such a silly question, I do not know. The poll also found that two in five Americans (42 percent) said they are not knowledgeable about the Supreme Court confirmation process. Almost three in five (58 percent) Americans said that they are knowledgeable about the process, with 14 percent saying they are very knowledgeable and 44 percent saying they are somewhat knowledgeable. Americans 65 and older (74 percent) and men (71 percent) were more likely to say they were knowledgeable on the subject compared to younger Americans (18-33) and women (both 46 percent).

Delving a little bit deeper into what Americans expect from a Supreme Court Justice nominee, the poll found that a majority of Americans agree that nominees should be required to answer questions on specific issues (81 percent) and how they might rule on specific court cases - both past cases and hypothetical ones (63 percent), while over half said they should answer questions about their personal life (54 percent). Four in five (84 percent) of Americans aged 46-64 and 65 and older agree that nominees should be required to answer questions about their views on specific issues, compared to three-quarters of those aged 18-33 who say the same (76 percent). Older Americans are also more likely to agree that nominees should be required to answer questions about their personal life (58 percent of those 46-64, and 68 percent of those 65 and older), compared to less than half of younger Americans (4 percent of those 18-33 and 48 percent of those 34-45), who say the same.

By political affiliation, over three-quarters of Republicans (76 percent) say nominees should be required to say how they would vote in specific court cases, compared to 54 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of Independents who say the same. About 71 percent of Republicans think nominees should be required to answer questions about their personal life, compared to less than half of Democrats (49 percent) and Independents (49 percent) who think it's important.

When asked what type of person Americans would most like to see on the Supreme Court, half (51 percent) said someone who keeps their personal opinions of "right" and "wrong" to themselves and makes decisions strictly based on the letter of the law and the Constitution. One-third of Americans say they want an independent thinker who “uses creativity and an understanding of modern circumstances” to make legal rulings (32 percent); just 6 percent say they would want someone who uses their own values or moral compass to guide their decisions; and one in ten are not at all sure what type of person they prefer (11 percent).

By political party, a majority of Republicans (67 percent) prefer justices who make decisions based strictly on the letter of the law and the Constitution. Democrats are split — 45 percent say they want an independent thinker, while 38 percent say they prefer someone who makes decisions based strictly on the letter of the law.

The most interesting part of the poll - which should give Americans some inspiration - is the fact that a majority of Americans (69 percent) believe the Supreme Court is crucial to the continued success of the United States. Republicans (71 percent), Democrats (74 percent), and Independents (70 percent) all agree on this point. Interestingly, women show more uncertainty on this, as 65 percent say that the Supreme Court is a crucial governing body, compared to three-quarters of men (75 percent) who say the same. Just one in ten (10 percent) women say that the Supreme Court is not necessary—decision making power should lay within the state courts, and over one-quarter of women are not at all sure (26 percent).

The Harris Poll surveyed 2,775 adults online between August 9 and 16, 2010. It was conducted by Harris Interactive.

Comments

When asked what religion they think Barak Obama practices, 75% of Americans responded "Muslim." When asked if they think he was born in Africa, 99% responded "Yes." When asked if they think he's too well-spoken to really be African-American, 5% responded "Yes."

Shout box

Infophile: @Matt: Apparently Dan Aykroyd actually is involved. We don't know how yet, though, but he's apparently going to be in the movie in some way.08/02/2015 - 4:17am

Mattsworkname: I still hold that not having the origonal cast invovled in any way hurts this movie, and unless the 4 actresses in the lead roles can some how measure up to the comic timing of the origonal cast, i just don't see it being a success08/02/2015 - 12:46am

Mattsworkname: Mecha: regardless of what you think of it, GB 2 was a finanical success and for it time did well with audiances ,even if it wasnt as popular as the first08/02/2015 - 12:45am

MechaTama31: I think they're better off trying to do something different, than trying to be exactly the same and having every little difference held up as a shortcoming. Uncanny valley.08/01/2015 - 11:57pm

MechaTama31: Having the original cast didn't do much for... that pink-slimed atrocity which we must never speak of.08/01/2015 - 11:56pm

Mattsworkname: Andrew: If the new ghostbusters bombs, I cant help but feel it'll be cause it removed the origonal cast and changed the formula to much08/01/2015 - 8:31pm

Andrew Eisen: Not the best look but that appears to be a PKE meter hanging from McCarthy's belt.08/01/2015 - 7:34pm

Mattsworkname: You know what game is a lot of fun? rocket league. It' s a soccer game thats actually fun to play cause your A Freaking CAR!08/01/2015 - 7:02pm

Mattsworkname: Nomad colossus did a little video about it, showing the world and what can be explored in it's current form. It's worth a look, and he uses text for commentary as not to break the immerison08/01/2015 - 5:49pm

Mattsworkname: I feel some more mobility would have made it more interesting and I feel that a larger more diverse landscape with better graphiscs would help, but as a concept, it interests me08/01/2015 - 5:48pm

Andrew Eisen: Huh. I guess I'll have to check out a Let's Play to get a sense of the game.08/01/2015 - 5:47pm

Mattsworkname: It did, I found the idea of exploring a world at it's end, exploring the abandoned city of a disappeared alien race and the planets various knooks and crannies intriqued me.08/01/2015 - 5:46pm

Andrew Eisen: Did it appeal to you? If so, what did you find appealing?08/01/2015 - 5:43pm

Mattsworkname: Its an interesting concept, but it's not gonna appeal to everyone thats for sure,08/01/2015 - 5:40pm

Andrew Eisen: That sounds horrifically boring. Doesn't sound like an interesting use of its time dilation premise either. 08/01/2015 - 5:36pm

Mattsworkname: an observer , seeing this sorta frozen world and being able to explore without any restriction other then time. no enimes, no threats, just the chance to explore08/01/2015 - 5:34pm

Mattsworkname: Andrew: I meant lifeless planet, Time frame is an exploration game. Your dropped onto a world which is gonna be hit by a metor in 10 seconds, but due to time dilation ,you actually have ten minutes, so you can explore the world, in it's last moments, as08/01/2015 - 5:32pm